Post by Flanz on Mar 1, 2013 4:55:54 GMT -5

I've seen lines before, but you usually just walk another 30 seconds to the next bank of atms and there's no line. Fees are about $3.50 if I remember correctly.

ourlee - bring cash. As Dave said they have those smart phone credit card swipes now, but a lot of these people are making/selling their own products and deal strictly in cash. It's probably worth it to budget out how many Miller Lites you're looking to crush per day and carry that much cash plus some money for food/buying stuff.

Post by klimfactor on Mar 1, 2013 5:56:40 GMT -5

I've found an increasing number of vendors inside Centeroo take cards now. I've bought Sanunk sandals in there before, in the sandal/shoe/boot place near the fountain, with a card. My wife's also bought jewelry and stuff from other vendors inside Centeroo using a card. We've never had an issue. As for the ATM's, like everyone else, I'd recommend bringing as much cash with you as you feel comfortable bringing. I usually run out, and when I get back and check my checking account I've got a bunch of crappy ATM fees from drunkenly taking out money to buy more beer from the broor'ers tent.

Post by ourlee on Mar 1, 2013 7:15:09 GMT -5

I've seen lines before, but you usually just walk another 30 seconds to the next bank of atms and there's no line. Fees are about $3.50 if I remember correctly.

ourlee - bring cash. As Dave said they have those smart phone credit card swipes now, but a lot of these people are making/selling their own products and deal strictly in cash. It's probably worth it to budget out how many Miller Lites you're looking to crush per day and carry that much cash plus some money for food/buying stuff.

You're only allowed to make fun of me in the music threads. The lite comment made me lol, funny stuff.

Post by cdevaney on Mar 1, 2013 15:37:29 GMT -5

I'll echo what others have said. Most vendors in Centeroo take cards, though I'm not nearly as confident in food vendors. I don't know if I've ever tried to charge food at Roo. Carrying cash is good but don't put all of your eggs in one basket. You'd hate to lose it and be screwed all weekend.

I've also never really encountered any issues with ATM waits or cash running out. The $3.50 fee sounds right but remember that your bank will likely also have their own fees on top of that so if you use them, make it worth your while and get larger amounts at a time. Fewer charges from fewer uses.

Post by memphis1979 on Mar 2, 2013 2:45:35 GMT -5

Just a comment on the card swipes. These either use wifi or cellular data. Now there was no wifi the last tike I went to roo, but I can tell you that the other festivals I've been to over the last three years have all had free wifi. The problem is, it sucks, its slow, and most of the time your better off sending a carrier pigeon to camp.

The cellular network I know way to much about. AT&T last year went from a 100% accessibility rate on the farm down to 18%. That means on a 24 hr day, people got access to the network for voice and data about 20% of the time. So using the cellular network for the data swipes is pretty much a crap shoot, and a bad one.

So my guess is that those vendors who take credit cards have another form of wifi up link, possibly satellite, that they use to get out.

And before someone trashes AT&T, I can tell you that all cell carriers hve the same issue in Manchester for one week out of the year.

Post by memphis1979 on Mar 2, 2013 3:03:53 GMT -5

And before someone trashes AT&T, I can tell you that all cell carriers hve the same issue in Manchester for one week out of the year.

Wrong.

I had AT&T for most of my cellular life. Could no longer take the crappy festival service. Changed to Verizon 2 years ago and have had no problems on the farm since.

Two years ago was prior to 3G deployment where we use code division just like verizon . And LTE, which should be there this June, has no blocking involved right now. Cellular networks evolve every 2 years or so. I know the Verizon engineer over that area also, and they block, just like everyone else.

Post by jorgerdz on Mar 3, 2013 11:00:40 GMT -5

I've found an increasing number of vendors inside Centeroo take cards now. I've bought Sanunk sandals in there before, in the sandal/shoe/boot place near the fountain, with a card. My wife's also bought jewelry and stuff from other vendors inside Centeroo using a card. We've never had an issue. As for the ATM's, like everyone else, I'd recommend bringing as much cash with you as you feel comfortable bringing. I usually run out, and when I get back and check my checking account I've got a bunch of crappy ATM fees from drunkenly taking out money to buy more beer from the broor'ers tent.

I'm pretty certain I as well bought some Sanuk sandals with a card in 2011. Don't recall any other vendor taking them, though.